Friday: "An Almanac for Farmers and Lovers in Mexico," by Kate Tarker. This is a fairy-tale-like exploration of liberal politics and what happens when Flora's fiance turns into a bird. It will be read at 7 p.m. with a discussion of the play soliciting audience reaction scheduled at 9 p.m.

Saturday: "Informed Consent," by Deborah Zoe Laufer. This work focuses on the experiences of Havasupai Indians whose DNA samples have been used to investigate the relationship between genetic predisposition and the development physical conditions -- without their full consent. Scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, with discussion to follow.

Sunday: "Concealed Carry," by Joshua Rollins. This play stems from Rollins' experience as a CU graduate student when he saw a fellow student's holster after the ruling that forbid the school from banning concealed weapons. Scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, March 17, with discussion to follow.

What happens when you witness a campus shooting and you don't react the way you think you would? What if you hadn't run? What if the concealed-carry laws allowing guns on campus hadn't just been overturned? What if you had tried to stop the shooter? What if you had a gun yourself? What if you shouldn't have been meeting that secret lover at the library to begin with?

These are the issues addressed in a new play by Joshua Rollins that sprung from his experience as a University of Colorado graduate student and he saw a holster under a student's jacket just after the ruling that forbid CU from banning concealed weapons on campus.

While not based on any one incident, Rollins' play, "Concealed Carry," explores the psychological effects of witnessing a shooting at a campus library. The play's main character finds himself grappling with the aftermath of his split-second decision to run away from the shooter, leaving someone he cared about in the line of fire.

"Concealed Carry" is part of Local Theatre Company's second Local Lab workshop, where new plays either get their first reading with professional actors. This year, the festival is featuring plays that appeal to contemporary experiences and issues.

"Concealed Carry," for example, will be performed against the backdrop of a debate on gun violence, both nationally and in the state of Colorado. Rollins' play does not take a stand on the issue of gun violence, but he expects it to spark a debate and to inspire discussion.

However, Rollins points out, while "Concealed Carry" is about the issue of gun violence, it's not an "issue play" per se.

"I write plays that just happen to be about an issue," Rollins said of his fictional play. "The play is about taking this graduate student and putting him in a situation where his choice was to run. And then in the rest of the play he tried to figure out why he ran and what might have happened if he didn't."

The idea that art can spur conversation is central to how Rollins engages the world as a playwright.

"For me," he said, "the reason I think the theater is dying is because we are seeing the 8,000th production of the 'The Odd Couple,' and what more is there it say about Oscar and Felix right now? Where can we add to the national debate? Why aren't we exploring the topical issues of the day? The reason we are losing audiences to television and film is because we not being topical enough."

The desire for meaningful new work is at the center of The Local Lab, a new-play development festival. After all, what is the role of an artist in society?

The Local Theatre Company presents this five-day gathering so actors, playwrights and directors can take a first stab at seeing how a production might work off the page. Each play gets 10 hours of rehearsal time with a professional cast and support staff, with the result presented publicly for the first time.

Local Theatre Company is taking on the risk -- and the potential reward -- that comes with moving outside the comfort zone of producing work that is a "known" quantity and offering playwrights a space to get feedback and creative input while their plays are still in the development stage.

"It came to me that all the artists in the room were much more vulnerable when doing a new play, whether an actor, a director or a playwright," said Pesha Rudnick, Local's artistic director. "When Local revived here, it felt like that was a good way to do challenging work."

Audience reaction and feedback is a critical aspect to the festival. Once a play has been read and worked on, the newness of the experience of the play is difficult to recapture. Input from the audience gives the artistic team the benefit of a fresh ear on a new project.

And what could be more exciting than a chance to respond to work that is still in development and offer insight about how you experienced the play to clarify and hone the story?

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